1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a process for pneumatically conveying preferably laundry by loading a pneumatic conveyor with preferably laundry, the laundry or the like being picked up by a suction head from a supply, in particular a pile of laundry. The invention also relates to an apparatus for pneumatically conveying preferably laundry having at least one suction head, at least one adjoining tubular conveying section and at least one air-flow generator, or having at least one suction head and at least one adjoining tubular conveying section.
2. Prior Art
In industrial laundries, laundry is conveyed to a first treatment station or else between successive treatment stations, inter alia, pneumatically. The laundry is constituted by items of laundry, for example bedding, table linen, towels or the like, but also items of clothing. The laundry can be conveyed pneumatically both in the unwashed state, that is to say when still dry, and once it has been laundered when still damp.
The laundry passes to the pneumatic conveyor usually as a pile of laundry with a multiplicity of items of laundry. In order to load the conveyor, a suction head picks up the laundry. Since the individual constituent parts of the laundry are often entangled in the pile of laundry, the suction head occasionally picks up such a large number of entwined items of laundry that the latter block the suction head. A plug of laundry then forms, in practice, in front of the suction head. This results in disruption during loading of the pneumatic conveyor. It is thus customary, in practice, for pneumatic conveyors to be manually loaded with laundry, operators disentangling the individual items of laundry in the pile of laundry to the extent where it is not possible for any suction-head-blocking plugs of laundry to form. This manual loading adversely affects the efficient use of pneumatic conveyors in laundries in particular.
Taking the above as a departure point, the object of the invention is to provide a process for pneumatically conveying, in particular, laundry automatically and without disruption, and also to provide a corresponding apparatus.